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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-11-29 Daily Xml
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SOUTH AUSTRALIAN FOOD INDUSTRY

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:12): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question about government funding to South Australia's food industry.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.S. LEE: Last Friday night, 25 November 2011, the Premier's Food Industry Awards were held at the Adelaide Convention Centre. The CEO of Bickford's, Mr Angelo Kotses, used the opportunity to speak out on a lack of government support for South Australia's food industry. Reported in InDaily on Monday 28 November, the CEO said 'doing business in South Australia is more difficult than in any other Australian state'. He continued:

I caution the government not to neglect the food industry and increase the amount of investment in food marketing which has actually declined in the last 10 years.

He also urged the state to embrace its local brands. The agricultural, food and fisheries sectors are important industries to our state, yet the agriculture, food and fisheries portfolio has had three ministerial representatives in the last 12 months. My questions to the minister are:

1. With the constant change of minister representing the agriculture, food and fisheries portfolio over the last 12 months, what type of assurance can the government guarantee to the food industry that it is committed to supporting South Australian food companies and embracing the state's local brands and produce?

2. With leading businesses in South Australia condemning government for not investing enough into South Australia's food marketing, can the minister outline what the government proposes to do to address this issue?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:14): I thank the honourable member for her important question. Indeed, as she points out, there have been three ministers of late responsible for food, but I have to say that they have been three extremely high calibre ministers, really committed and hardworking, diligent people. You could not get better quality, I don't think. You should feel assured that you have the cream of the crop.

The Hon. D.W. Ridgway: The former ministers were high calibre and you're not?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I'm including myself in that, of course. It speaks for itself: dedicated, hardworking and extremely committed. I think the honourable member is being slightly mischievous here. There are criticisms from time to time about how the South Australian government, of any government persuasion, could or should be doing better. However, to suggest that leading industries are, overall, criticising this government for its work is quite misleading. That is not so and we are generally held in high regard. That is not to say that there are not issues that the industry does bring to us. Of course, we listen, we engage and we work with them to try to ensure the best way forward.

The five-year South Australian Food Strategy is a plan that we have in place to boost the food industry's competitiveness and growth in both domestic and international markets. The strategy embraces the entire food industry, from producers to processors. It was developed collaboratively with the industry and was endorsed by the Premier's Food Council prior to its release back in February 2010.

Through a deed of grant, PIRSA works with Food SA to provide foundation funding for the South Australian Food Industry Development Project that will support the continued growth of a strong, innovative and resilient food sector in South Australia. It will also deliver a program of activities focusing on industry engagement, education and awareness, positioning the industry competitively interstate and internationally, improving the capabilities of food companies and increasing jobs and sustainability.

Food SA has developed operational plans for both 2010-11 and 2011-12, which have been approved by the former minister—a very capable minister. The 2011-12 annual operational plan includes both statewide activities and pilot regional projects aimed at building upon key regional attributes. PIRSA and Food SA have worked with other key industry bodies to develop an enhanced industry development program focused on expanding, as I said, domestic and international markets.

Key activities of the operational plan—I won't go through it all, but just very briefly—include things like business capability development to embed management, consumer focus and product innovation capabilities into food businesses; participation in national and international trade shows, creating awareness; bringing buyers from domestic and international markets to South Australia to promote our goods; and development of an online food industry portal that will help provide a one-stop shop for food businesses.

Some of the key activities for PIRSA's contribution—again, I won't go into it all—include things like two food technologists assisting industry in areas such as new product development and improving production efficiencies, etc.; the establishment of a graduate access program designed to assist small to medium-sized food companies accessing skills and expertise, particularly related to the current university and TAFE graduates, providing an opportunity to add technical, marketing or commercial expertise at an affordable cost; and an industry analysis unit, which analyses SA's food industry chains and develops projects to enhance industry performance.

Current projects include work with the lamb and orange industries. You can see that there is a framework in place. That framework has been put together in collaboration with the industry and it is a working blueprint for us to move forward and make sure our food industry remains successful.

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